Ape Escape
サルゲッチュ (Saru! Get You!/Saru Getchu) |Music = }} Ape Escape is a platform game published and developed by Sony, for the Playstation, released in 1999. The story begins with an Albino ape named Specter who gains enhanced intelligence with an experimental helmet. After this, he makes a million more and uses them for building an army of apes that he uses to wreak havoc throughout History. Ape Escape was met with universal acclaim from professional critics, who praised the use of the dual analog controls and spoke positively of the graphics and music, with minor criticism going to the voice acting. Story The story begins with a Monkey named Specter, who steals a Peak Point Helmet. Because of this experimental helmet his intelligence suddenly increases but also gives him an evil intent. For less intelligent Apes he mass produces more helmets and makes an army of them for World Domination! Its up to Spike and the Professor to stop these evil monkey's by chasing them through time and capturing them. From the Dinosaur Ages to the future Spike must catch the legions of Apes if he wishes to save the world from the evil monkey. Synopsis Specter, a albino monkey accidentally comes into contact with a experimental intelligence boosting device known as the Peak Point Helmet -putting it on and gaining intelligence as well as super powers but a cruel desire to rule the world. Releasing all the apes from the zoos and attacking the source of the helmets; giving the other apes helmets as well before using another experimental device (the time machine) to send his army back in time. In the middle of the commotion two boys, Spike and Jake, accidentally enter the lab just as the time machine activates and they are both drawn in. Spike, now separated from Jake, is given a mission by The Professor who invented the helmets to capture the apes. Specter's identity is later revealed in a transmission from his base in Dimension X and he tells both the Professor and his granddaughter Natalie the details of his plan; no one would receive any mercy if they got in his way either and simply put down the idea of Spike (now aided by gadgets also made by the professor ever stopping him. Showcasing his power, the corrupt albino presented a brainwashed Jake to the trio before ending the transmission. Jake would now occasionally attack Spike in Dimension X, his competitive nature being exploited by Specter against Spike. Eventually Spike cleared out most of the prehistoric ages and confronted Specter and Jake in the medieval period, only to find Specter had also created his own invention -the battle cruiser, and that they were headed back to the present before Specter and Jake teleported away in the large aircraft. Once Spike returned to the future it was evident Specter had been prepared for things to go south and has already invaded the city. Using an old power grid and a renovated factory to mass produce weapons, helmets, and robotics. Spike had also learned that Natalie and the Professor had been kidnapped and any machines related to helping Spike had been destroyed saved for the A.I intelligence Casi who temporarily briefs him over the factory and the power plant. Traveling to a park and stopping the power grid, Spike then went directly to the heavily guarded factory and shut it down as well before proceeding to Specter's base in the city center, confirming he had indeed kidnapped Natalie and the Professor.. Annoyed about the loss of his factory and power generator, Specter attempted to kill Spike with the battle cruiser but failed. Remarking how formidable Spike was, Specter once again disappeared. The real challenge for Spike had begun after the battle, Specter inviting Spike to Specter ?Land -his version of monkey park. Testing Spike's metal through various death traps and frustrating puzzles, the albino decided that Spike would join him and put Spike up against Jake for the final time. The former won and Jake was returned to normal brain status before Spike departed for Specter Castle. Finding Specter in his throne room, the two had a short conversation before Specter tried to brainwash Spike but faIled. In retalliation, Specter used his last and final mech against Spike and tried to kill him. Finally realizing he was defeated, Specter lost his cool before teleporting away to the sanctuary of Dimension X. Knowing if they left Specter out there, he'd eventually return to his evil ways and try to muster what remains of his army, Spike departed back in time to remove any last traces of Specter before departing to Dimension X to confront the monkey leader. In a desperate attempt, Specter tried to convince Spike to join him, the latter rejecting and offering the former to come back to the amusement park and to end this the simple way. Enraged, Specter used his mechanized chair to try and defeat Spike but failed and was quickly captured, returned to the zoo, and a normal monkey once again. Gameplay2 Spike can run, jump, climb, and swing on objects. Throughout the adventure, he gains gadgets in order to help in his monkey catching mission. The controls main focus are the two analog sticks, as the Dual Analog Controller is mandatory to play the game. When Entering a stage, Casi will display the number of apes that should be captured in order to complete the stage. However, more may be available in the stage than asked for. It means that you will need to return into the stage another time to finish it entirely. The bottom-right corner of the screen displays a group of icons indicating how many apes have been captured (a net icon) and how many must still be captured (an ape head icon). Spike's Health is shown by cookies, which he can gain from a cookie jar or enemies. His life icon is symbolized by his Shirt. They can be gathered randomly or after getting 100 gold chips. Gadgets As the game goes on, gadgets are obtained in order to capture more apes, which cannot be captured by normal measures. A training session must be completed first in order to use the said gadget. *Stun Club: An electrified club used to attack targets in close proximity. *Time Net: A net which is used to capture apes. *Water Net: Used the moment Spike touches water, this gadget aids in swimming and can deploy a net to capture apes under water. *Monkey Radar: Used to locate hidden or nearby apes one may not see. Using the L2 button will switch the camera view to see said ape. *Slingback Shooter: For hitting switches or apes from a distance. *Super hoop: A hula hoop that will provide Spike with super speed! *Sky Flyer: A hand held propeller used to reach new heights! *R.C. Car: Used to access small spaces/places Spike can't fit through. *Magic Punch: A giant boxing glove that is like a stronger variant to Stun Club. It can break and open many things (boxes, etc.). Minigames Enemies For more info please see: Enemies (AE1) Stages In each level, you can usually collect 1 to 4 Specter Coins, which can be used to unlock Minigames. Each level is connected through the Hub world, called the Time Station. Spike needs to catch 204 apes. Characters *Spike: The main protagonist of the game. A 10 year old boy who is kind, brave, persistent, and simple-minded. He is the leader of Team Spike. *Specter: The main antagonist of the game and overall series. He is said to be the first monkey to have ever worn a Peak Point Helmet. However, the helmet at the time was a prototype that had been untested, resulting in Specter gaining rare, special psychic and telekinetic powers, the ability to talk in human language, and increased intelligence. The device also flawed Specter's mind, causing him to turn evil with a general hatred of humans, freeing his fellow monkeys before giving them their own less powerful helmets. *The Professor: A genius inventor who created the Time Station, Peak Point Helmet and the many gadgets that you use throughout the game. He is a good man at heart, though he can be a little distracted at times. *Natalie: A tomboyish 14 year old girl who helps the Professor with his research. She is known to have a short temper and is the granddaughter of the Professor. She usually handles computer work to make sure nothing breaks. *Jake: Spike's best friend who enjoys a friendly rivalry with him. As they were split up, he became mind-controlled by Specter. *The Apes: Specter's army that Spike must catch and send back to the lab. They all have colored pants and helmets to increase their intelligence. The color of the flasher unit on their helmet describes their mood, while the color of their pants describes their nature. *Casi: A computer program brought to life in order to assist people inside the Time Station. She usually tells Spike how many apes and Specter coins he still needs to collect in a level. Cheat There is only one currently known cheat in Ape Escape. * To get up to 99 explosion bullets, first you have to pause the game, then press: R2, down, L2, up, right, down, right, left Development Ape Escape was the first game requiring the use of the Dual Analog Controller. The music of the game was composed by Soichi Terada. The game's sound effects were created by Masaaki Kaneko, while the sound effects in the game cinematics were provided by Masatoshi Mizumachi. The voice acting of the American version of the game was recorded at Dubey Tunes Studios with Sara Holihan serving as the voiceover director and Hunter A. Pipes III serving as the voiceover producer. The game is compatible with the Pocketstation Application and during Sony Computer's entertainment America winter holiday market compaign in 1999 they showed on-air promotions for it on Cartoon Network. Voice Actors American *Scott MacGregor as Spike *Peter Bayhem as Jake *Michael Sousa as the Professor *Pete Burrows as Specter *Christiane Crawford as Natalie *Peggy Small as Casi *Susan Michele as additional characters. Japanese *Kakeru — Fujiko Takimoto *Natsumi — Tomoko Kawakami *Professor — Jouji Yanami *Hiroki — Kazue Ikura *Specter — Chika Sakamoto Reception Many people had positive reviews towards the game. Even leading to some calling it the best 3D Platform game on the Playstation. Bringing with it many unique game mechanics and art styling. Also noted was its originality and fun held within it. Many magazines also supported the game, "Electronic Gaming Monthly" in their January 2004 issues claimed it was "The amazing 3D action game that made capturing monkeys popular again." The game's graphics were met with mostly good comments. But some were indifferent, saying most textures weren't terribly stunning and extremely crude and simple. The character designs were fundamental, and the entire game had a cartoony styling in comparison to the soon arriving Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast. However, said person also noted that the special effect when capturing an ape was "Awesome" and the Mixture of transparent lights in the forms of rings and sparks and quickly moving camera created very satisfying effects. Scott Alan Marriott of Allgame noted the "distinct Japanese style" of the graphics and added that the environments were "fun", but suffered from some pop-up and other minor glitches. Reception of the game's audio was mainly positive, with some if not all criticism going to the voice acting. Some disliked the mixture of J-Pop and techno-style synth that was more Japenese than Western. A lot of people disliked Spike and Jake's voices, but loved the apes' screeches and such. The VA work left a lot to be desired, but no complaints towards others had been stated as of this time. Pete Bartholow of GameSpot referred to the "playful techno" soundtrack as "stage-appropriate" and noted its "mildly interactive" nature in that some of the music's instruments are muted when the player character moves stealthily. The staff of IGN included Ape Escape in an article documenting the "greatest PlayStation 3D platformers ever". The staff of IGN also included it as #8 in their "Top 25 PlayStation Games of All Time". In the final issue of Official UK PlayStation Magazine, the game was chosen as the 9th best game of all time. The IGN PlayStation Team included the game as #8 in their "Top 10 Classics that Belong on the PSN". PSP Version After 6 years since the initial release, a PlayStation Portable remake, Ape Escape: On the Loose, was published. The game shows some differences with the original version. Trivia *Out of all the Ape Escape games, it was re-released the most, being for: **"Best for Family" and "Sony Greatest Hits" in 2000 **Platinum Range in 2001 **The PSone Books in 2005 **PSone Classics (PSN) in 2007 (Japan only) *Its the only Ape Escape game to be re-tooled/upgraded for another system (PSP) *''Ape Escape'' is notable as the first video game to require the use of the Dual Analog Controller for gameplay. *In the Winter 2000 issue of Disney Adventures Magazine, there was an Ape Escape comic inside to promote the game. It featured Spike traveling back in time to recover the Magic Punch gadget and to catch many monkeys, including Specter. *The only Ape Escape website that is still up and running as of January 2014 is based on the UK version of the game. You can tell by the logo used within the site and Natalie and Jake's names being Katie and Buzz. *By entering "R2, Down, L2, Up, Right, Down, Right, Left." You can get 99 explosive bullets for your slingshot. *Entering "R2, Up, L2, Down, Left, Up, Left, Right, R2, L2" you can be given 99 lives. Gallery External links *Official Ape Escape website References Category:Ape Escape Category:Games